"Love Is a Stranger" | ||||
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Single by Eurythmics | ||||
from the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | ||||
B-side | "Monkey Monkey" | |||
Released | 8 November 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop [1] | |||
Length | 3:43 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Eurythmics singles chronology | ||||
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Eurythmicssingles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Love Is a Stranger" | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Love Is a Stranger" on YouTube |
"Love Is a Stranger" is a song by the British pop duo Eurythmics. Originally released in late 1982,the single was commercially unsuccessful,but it was re-released in 1983,reaching the UK top 10. [2] The single was re-released again in 1991,to promote Eurythmics' Greatest Hits album.
Cash Box said that "the commanding vocals of Annie Lennox and hazy,electronically inflected backing combine to make 'Love Is a Stranger' a challenging yet already familiar sound." [3] Stereogum and The Guardian both ranked the song number two on their lists of the greatest Annie Lennox songs. [4] [5]
Originally released in November 1982 in the United Kingdom,"Love Is a Stranger" reached number 54 on the UK Singles Chart. [6] Following the huge success of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" the following year,the song was re-released and reached number six in April 1983. [7] In the United States,the song was the second single from the Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) album. The single was released just as the album title track reached number one,entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 in September 1983 and peaking at number 23 in November of that year. The song spent 13 weeks on the chart. [8] [9]
The single release was accompanied by a music video directed by Mike Brady,in which Stewart acts as chauffeur for Lennox,who plays the role of a high-class prostitute. Lennox removes a curly blonde wig to reveal close-cropped,red hair,though in the music video her hair was slicked back rather than being a buzz cut as seen in the subsequent music video,"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". This caused minor controversy in the USA,as some people mistakenly thought Lennox was a male cross-dresser. [10]
"Let's Just Close Our Eyes" is a newly recorded version of "The Walk" with a more synth-oriented instrumentation.
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Eurythmics were a British pop duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band that broke up in 1980. They released their first studio album, In the Garden, in 1981 to little success, but achieved global acclaim with their second album, Sweet Dreams (1983). The title track became a worldwide hit, reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart, and number one in Canada and the US Billboard Hot 100. Eurythmics went on to release a string of hit singles and albums, including "Love Is a Stranger", "There Must Be an Angel " and "Here Comes the Rain Again", before splitting in 1990.
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is the second studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 4 January 1983 by RCA Records.
"Why" is the debut solo single of Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, released on 16 March 1992. It was taken from her debut solo album, Diva (1992), and reached number five in the United Kingdom. In the United States, "Why" peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was also a big hit internationally, reaching number one in Italy and peaking within the top 10 in Belgium, Canada, Ireland and five other countries. Its music video was directed by Sophie Muller. Stereogum ranked "Why" number one on their list of "The 10 Best Annie Lennox Songs" in 2015.
"This Is the House" is a 1982 song by the British new wave duo Eurythmics. It was their third single, and was included on the band's second album Sweet Dreams .
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics and American singer Aretha Franklin. A modern feminist anthem, it was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and featured on both Eurythmics' Be Yourself Tonight (1985) and Franklin's Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) albums. The duo originally intended to perform with Tina Turner, who was unavailable at the time and so they flew to Detroit and recorded with Franklin instead. The track also features three of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers: Stan Lynch on drums, Benmont Tench on organ, and Mike Campbell on lead guitar, plus session bassist Nathan East.
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British synth-pop duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their second album of the same name in January 1983. It was their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo worldwide. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 1983, and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later; it was their first single released in the US.
"Who's That Girl?" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Touch (1983). It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart.
"Right by Your Side" is a 1983 song by the British pop duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, and produced by Stewart. The track was released as the second single in the UK from Eurythmics' third album Touch.
"Here Comes the Rain Again" is a 1983 song by British duo Eurythmics and the opening track from their third studio album Touch. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The song was released on 12 January 1984 as the album's third single in the UK and in the United States as the first single.
"Would I Lie to You?" is a song written and performed by British pop duo Eurythmics. Released on 9 April 1985 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Be Yourself Tonight (1985), the song was the first by the duo to feature their change in musical direction from a predominantly synthpop style to rock and rhythm and blues. The song, and its accompanying album, featured a full backing band and relied less on electronic programming.
"It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" is a song written and recorded by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their 1985 album Be Yourself Tonight. The song was produced by Dave Stewart, and the song's brass arrangement was devised by Michael Kamen.
"Thorn in My Side" is a song by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as the second single from the duo's fifth studio album, Revenge (1986). Written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, the song is a cast-off to an unfaithful lover. "Thorn in My Side" was produced by Stewart.
"The Miracle of Love" is an electropop ballad recorded by British duo Eurythmics. It was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The track was released as the third single from the duo's sixth album Revenge in the UK. It was not released as a single in the United States.
"Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 12 October 1987 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Savage (1987).
"I Need a Man" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. Taken from their sixth album, Savage (1987), the song was released in May 1988 by RCA Records as the third single in the UK and the first single in the United States.
"You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, and appears on the duo's sixth studio album, Savage (1987). The song was released in May 1988 by RCA as the fourth and final single from the album in the United Kingdom and as the second in the United States. In the first, it was the only single from the album to reach the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 16. The music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller.
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics, released as the second single from their seventh album, We Too Are One (1989). The song was written by bandmembers Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart with Jimmy Iovine. In the US, it was released as the first single from the album. It is a lush pop song with melancholy and bitter lyrics which describe the ending of a love relationship. In it Lennox tells the subject "don't ask me why / I don't love you any more / I don't think I ever did".
"The King and Queen of America" is a song recorded by pop music duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart with Jimmy Iovine. The track appears on their album We Too Are One and was released as the album's third UK single in January 1990.
"I've Got a Life" is a song released by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as a single in 2005, in order to promote their second greatest hits compilation, Ultimate Collection. It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. It was the duo's final single to date, becoming their fourteenth UK Top 20 hit, and also topped the US Dance Chart.
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